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March 28, 2024, 08:58:08 PM

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Ricky Gervais: SuperNature

Started by Blue Jam, July 29, 2018, 02:09:02 PM

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Mobius

Quote from: Twonty Gostelow on June 01, 2022, 09:51:42 PMBut I've never seen or heard an interview with Gervais where he's asked about working with Merchant again. It's as if Merchant's been airbrushed out of his reality.

Didn't Ricky do a podcast once or interview once, and it came out that he'd asked beforehand they don't mention Merchant. And the entire interview was full of "When YOU created The Office"

Or did I just imagine that because I hate Ricky Gervais.

DJ Bob Hoskins

Quote from: Mobius on June 01, 2022, 10:08:20 PMDidn't Ricky do a podcast once or interview once, and it came out that he'd asked beforehand they don't mention Merchant. And the entire interview was full of "When YOU created The Office"

Or did I just imagine that because I hate Ricky Gervais.

That story about Ricky Gervais is not true. But I feel that what it tells us about Ricky Gervais is true.

Stigdu

Quote from: scarecrow on June 01, 2022, 08:27:08 PMLike when he tries to step out of the car, but falls because he is small and the car is high up.

At least someone on here agrees with me that it's brilliant! Cheers, mate.

Ballad of Ballard Berkley

Quote from: BritishHobo on June 01, 2022, 09:59:13 PMMy enduring memory is Warwick Davis asking Doc Brown to please ring a doorbell that Warwick can't reach, and Doc Brown inexplicably launching into a rant about how playing Ewoks and goblins isn't proper acting. It really was just a string of people parroting Gervais' 'ironic' viewpoints, wasn't it?

It was. I remember Davis talking enthusiastically about the project beforehand, and it did sound quite promising. A sitcom based on the everyday experiences of a little person is obviously a good idea in theory, it has the potential to be funny while at the same making various thoughtful observations about living with a genetic medical condition.

As we now know, it ended up being a mirthless load of old shit in which a cackling Ricky Gervais stuffed Warwick Davis down a toilet. I mean it was always going to be that, because it's Gervais, but I do wonder what Davis thinks of the whole thing now.


TommyTurnips

Quote from: Mobius on June 01, 2022, 10:08:20 PMDidn't Ricky do a podcast once or interview once, and it came out that he'd asked beforehand they don't mention Merchant. And the entire interview was full of "When YOU created The Office"

Or did I just imagine that because I hate Ricky Gervais.

I remember there was a post on his blog around the release of the office anniversary dvd that was Ricky gushing about how he made the office. There were paragraphs and paragraphs about how he had made this great show and Stephen Merchant's name was not mentioned once.

Menu

Quote from: Barry Admin on June 01, 2022, 08:35:19 PMWasn't there talk of that early on? Seem to remember they quietly dropped that and just did a special after the first series, given the luke-warm reception and poor ratings.

Also it must have been round this time that Gervais and Merchant went their separate ways.

g0m

Quote from: Replies From View on June 01, 2022, 09:40:28 PMJust in case anyone missed it.  This isn't "office pranks" - Nigel genuinely hated this during Extras series 1, and took on the job of editing Extras series 2 on the understanding that these activities wouldn't be repeated.

At 3:10, Nigel is bound up with tape and trapped in a cage for the crew of Extras to laugh at him.

Jonathan Ross appears at the 4:45 minute mark as well, discussing whether he should punch Nigel in the stomach "to ruin his day" for a laugh.  Somebody who thinks this is "office pranks" please tell me at what point any of this steps into the territory of being even remotely amusing.

ghoulish

famethrowa

Quote from: Ballad of Ballard Berkley on June 01, 2022, 08:59:17 PMI liked it when practically every single person Warwick encountered was horrible to him for no reason whatsoever.

Well that's pretty much the template for the Office and Extras and kinda everything else, isn't it? Everyone else is smarter, more confident and easily puts you in your place. Until the end when you get a momentary "victory" that lasts a minute and no-one else really sees.

checkoutgirl

There's almost a sexual component to taping Nigel that's a bit disconcerting. See also feeling entitled to touch and squeeze Karl's head despite Karl not liking it and it being weird and overstepping boundaries anyway.

sigdu come on. That stuff is weird and unfair. Kicking a stall door when Karl's going toilet. Putting a Burger King bag or bin lid on Karl's head, a 40 year old man shouldn't be like that. Certainly not one outside a care home of some sort.

Dr Rock

My last gf knew people who went to university with him. Apparently he was a know-it-all cunt and nobody liked him.

Objection, hearsay.

kalowski

The whole of "Life's Too Short" is just the scene with the cab drivers from Taxi Driver.
"I like those midgets. They like to ride up front. Sometimes I like just to pick 'em up so their little legs dangle."

Stigdu

Quote from: checkoutgirl on June 02, 2022, 07:43:10 AMThere's almost a sexual component to taping Nigel that's a bit disconcerting. See also feeling entitled to touch and squeeze Karl's head despite Karl not liking it and it being weird and overstepping boundaries anyway.

sigdu come on. That stuff is weird and unfair. Kicking a stall door when Karl's going toilet. Putting a Burger King bag or bin lid on Karl's head, a 40 year old man shouldn't be like that. Certainly not one outside a care home of some sort.

I don't know about any of that. He does seem like a big kid. Aren't they his mates? Did they make complaints?

I remember we sellotaped one of our mates to an office chair at work and wheeled him around the office for a laugh. Think we used 2 entire rolls of tape. He took it in good humour. Then again, this was 25 years ago when we were in our 20s!

Replies From View

They always complained - I'm sure you've seen Taping Nigel 2 as you're talking about it being mere office japes.  Nigel is obviously extremely upset by the cage incident in particular, for example, but it's odd to me that having a wife and kids gains him more sympathy from the actress who's nice to him than otherwise.

As with Pilkington though it's impossible to garner how much is actually consensual.  They might consider it a trade-off of working with him, but then that would be a hallmark of an abusive relationship.

phes

Quote"I'm constantly excited by my friends. I haven't lost that. I treat them like pets. I treat them the same way I treated Constantine the Frog [on Muppets Most Wanted] – I want to see happens when I poke them and wrestle them. That's a very 'man' thing, isn't it? I don't think there are any grown women poking, wrestling and insulting each other [laughs]. With British male friends, it's about who gets the insult out first. That said, [my friends] know I'll do anything for them when it comes down to it."

From back when Gervais was heavily rebranding himself after mong-gate with his Kindness is Magic Mantra

https://www.shortlist.com/news/ricky-gervais-nine-commandments-of-being-nice

dead-ced-dead

Quote from: Replies From View on June 02, 2022, 09:20:52 AMAs with Pilkington though it's impossible to garner how much is actually consensual.  They might consider it a trade-off of working with him, but then that would be a hallmark of an abusive relationship.

The impression I always got with Pilkington (and this is just my impression) is that he's aware that this relationship is abusive, but he was also aware that Gervais was blowing up and had enough business sense that if he played Gervais' pet idiot for several years, he'd be able to ride that abuse to some success and fame to the point where he wouldn't need Gervais anymore.

Not that that makes it okay, but I always thought that Pikington had one eye towards the end goal - An Idiot Abroad plus the book deal, Sick of It etc.

The Bumlord

Quote from: dead-ced-dead on June 02, 2022, 09:48:56 AMNot that that makes it okay, but I always thought that Pikington had one eye towards the end goal - An Idiot Abroad plus the book deal, Sick of It etc.

Karl mentioned people saying he was being bullied on one of the Idiot Abroad shows I think. "I'm nearly 40, don't worry about me".

dead-ced-dead

Quote from: The Bumlord on June 02, 2022, 09:56:24 AMKarl mentioned people saying he was being bullied on one of the Idiot Abroad shows I think. "I'm nearly 40, don't worry about me".

I'm glad he was able to get out of Gervais' shadow, but that statement makes me really sad. I mean it's definitely not a no, is it?

Sonny_Jim

Similar attitude to Danger Ehren.  Although IIRC he bought loads of property rather than sports cars and does alright for himself nowadays

The Bumlord

Quote from: dead-ced-dead on June 02, 2022, 10:00:19 AMI'm glad he was able to get out of Gervais' shadow, but that statement makes me really sad. I mean it's definitely not a no, is it?

There's a bit more to it but iirc he doesn't sound remotely bothered, more annoyed that people say it.

BritishHobo

Yeah, it gives me a similar feeling to Taping Nigel, in that the worst thing about it is admitting to yourself as a grown man that you're being bullied every day at work. I feel like you'd have to force yourself to believe it's okay and you're in on the joke, because accepting the alternative is a heartbreaking and humiliating thing to do.

Stigdu

I think some of you are reading far more into it than is necessary. If they were really bothered, they'd have snapped and decked Gervais. Like Pilkington says, he's a grown man. He can take it. What's worth more to these grown men being 'bullied'? The fame and notoriety, or their sense of worth?

Dr Rock

He's a bully, he senses who won't deck him.

Replies From View

#892
Quote from: Stigdu on June 02, 2022, 10:17:31 AMI think some of you are reading far more into it than is necessary. If they were really bothered, they'd have snapped and decked Gervais. Like Pilkington says, he's a grown man. He can take it. What's worth more to these grown men being 'bullied'? The fame and notoriety, or their sense of worth?

It's not reading too deeply into it- that implies it's taking too much effort or isn't obvious on the surface.

It doesn't need to even be about the specific people Gervais targets, so much as his tendency to treat differences with ridicule and people with differences as pets to squeeze, squash and encourage ganging-up on.  The cage incident is clearly humiliating for Nigel.  Everyone working on the set that day saw the editor squashed in a cage, unable to move and it was at least awkward for them while Gervais howled with laughter like his lungs were going to burst.  Then Jonathan Ross appeared and started bragging about the exact amount of punching required to ruin Nigel's day.

And it's punching down.  Beyond calling Steve googly-eyed, Gervais obviously never crossed the same boundaries due to respect for him.  Certainly not physical boundaries, he never forced objects onto his head or physically trapped him with tape.  So it's not "I do this to my friends, haha, what are all men like, we all do this".  He never did it to Jonathan Ross.  He's a classic bully punching down and finding excuses by saying a) he does it to all his mates and b) all men are like this so it's not just him anyway.

And so it's a completely valid discussion in this thread where we're talking about a wealthy white man forming jokes about people with differences that bigots take at face value.  It reinforces attitudes that need challenging, and helps to assure bullies that they operate according to some model of common sense and people are just being snowflakes for being offended.

I remember how in the wake of The Ricky Gervais Show podcast there were a glut of other comedians or individuals suddenly doing the "you are an idiot for thinking that" motif in their own shows.  Not interesting improvisation, just "how stupid" and other waves of mockery essentially modelled on Gervais' bullying persona towards Karl's village idiot persona.  So I don't really think it's specifically about whether Karl Pilkington and Nigel were sufficiently financially rewarded by working with Gervais, it's about behaviour and attitudes spread by people who are in a position of influence, and whether they could do better considering what they claim to believe "in real life".

Getting back to Super Nature, what an absolute waste of an opportunity for supposedly-liberal Gervais to challenge the likes of Jim Davidson and Jeremy Clarkson and generate some interesting discussion in the newspapers rather than climb into their basket and get his back slapped by them.

What a platform he had, and what a waste.  And if he doesn't react with horror to the people he's now aligned himself with, and create his next show as a response to that, then he is a coward.

Pimhole

Quote from: Stigdu on June 01, 2022, 07:17:19 PMWe'll agree to disagree. I think Life is Short is absolutely hilarious. So many funny bits.

What was it that you didn't like about Derek?

Replies From View

Quote from: The Bumlord on June 02, 2022, 10:01:45 AMThere's a bit more to it but iirc he doesn't sound remotely bothered, more annoyed that people say it.

Regarding the "bit more to it", it's something like this:

"First of all, I'm nearly 40, you don't need to worry about me.  But secondly who's come to my help?  People are saying "Karl's getting bullied" but who's come to help me?"

I can't get it more accurately at the moment but if anyone cares I can watch it again tonight and transcribe it exactly; it's episode 8 of series 1 of An Idiot Abroad.

idunnosomename

Whatever happened to the FLANIMALS MOVIE

the glubbgobster's mate has died so he just goes around calling everyone a cunt but he is still the kindest of the flanimals really

Replies From View

I've not seen Afterlife, just read the premise on Wikipedia.  Are there nuances of difference between Gervais' character behaving like a cunt because his wife has died in this and his character behaving like a cunt in The Invention of Lying?

Dr Rock

Quote from: Replies From View on June 02, 2022, 11:23:58 AMI've not seen Afterlife, just read the premise on Wikipedia.  Are there nuances of difference between Gervais' character behaving like a cunt because his wife has died in this and his character behaving like a cunt in The Invention of Lying?

In Afterlife we are reassured via video recordings that his cuntiness was hilarious to his dead wife who also told him repeatedly that he was a lovely kind man.

frajer

^ This but also he's got a dog.

Replies From View